Ohio State Football: In-depth preview of freshman star Brandon Inniss

As we near the beginning of the 2023 Ohio State football season, it will be the first time we see some of the new freshmen from the class of 2023. A class that was loaded at receiver, Ohio State landed some top talent. This is in thanks to elite recruiter, Brian Hartline.

One of those receivers was five-star talent, Brandon Inniss. Inniss is out of Hollywood, Florida. He had offers from just about every school in the country, and it is not hard to see why. He also played at one of the best high schools in the country.

American Heritage has produced some of the best prospects in the country. Located in Plantation, Florida, Inniss played against some of the best teams in the nation. The Patriots went 13-2 last season, with Inniss putting on impressive numbers for his senior campaign.

Inniss had 1,336 receiving yards on 73 receptions. He had 15 receiving touchdowns and averaged over 18 yards per catch. What a great way to finish out your high school career!

He wasn’t always set on Ohio State. Inniss originally committed to Oklahoma, but when Lincoln Riley left for USC, he took a step back and reevaluated his recruitment. While Coach Riley most definitely wanted him to come and join him in Los Angeles, his relationship with Coach Hartline stood tall. Even when he was committed to Oklahoma, they still would talk and had a connection.

According to 247Sports, Inniss’s pro comparison is Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has been doing very well with the Detroit Lions.

While Inniss has the size and speed you want out of a receiver, I think his best asset is one that is not on the stat sheet. That is his route running. 247Sports gave him a 10 out of 10 grade for route running. All you have to do is turn on the film and you will see how smooth he is with it. It honestly looks a lot like former Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson. Wilson was able to make his impact early on during his career at Ohio State.

With all that being said, Inniss will be slightly behind his peers. This is just because he was unable to enroll early, so he had to enroll this summer. Meanwhile, his peers have been getting valuable playbook knowledge and even spring reps.

However, it is highly likely that Inniss has been on virtual calls, or has been sent playbooks. The coaching staff at the Ohio State football program knows how valuable he can be. Maybe not this year immediately, but he can be a valuable piece of depth for this season. If an injury unfortunately occurs, he could see early playing time.

Or, maybe he doesn’t need an injury to find starting reps. You see besides your great receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Egbuka, you could see a young guy take the spot behind them. It is hard to top those two starters, especially when some have been named to Phil Steele’s preseason All-American team.

You would think that the other spot would be for Julian Fleming. When he has been healthy, he has been really good. You have to respect his work ethic because he could’ve transferred a while ago, but it is obvious he is a leader in this receiver’s room. He and Xavier Johnson provide what these young freshmen need, leadership. Fleming is a great man, and if he is healthy, he will be a valuable piece to the Ohio State football team’s offense.

You also have Jaylen Ballard, who was making some noise this offseason. Many said they were impressed and believe he is ready to take that next step.

I believe Brandon Inniss has the full tool set. He has the size, he will put on some extra muscle mass when he gets a full winter offseason. He is already at an advanced level for his age for his route running. How long can you keep him back? We already saw Carnell Tate making noise in spring ball for how well he was doing.

Is Inniss the next young freshman to step up and start making noise? If he had been allowed to enroll early, I believe he would’ve been. But I think Ohio State will let him get to know the playbook more, and will let him get some valuable reps with the second-team offense in some blowouts this season.

However, I think down the stretch you could see Inniss make his way to some big-time games, and get some valuable playing time. He is just too talented, as long as he is ready, I think Coach Hartline would be good to throw him out there in big moments.

This will be the first installment for many other freshmen who I believe will make an early impact on the Ohio State football team this fall! Watch out for more articles like this one soon!